


Sweet Dreams Embrace

by silverserpent



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Minor Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Rating May Change, Sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-16 10:17:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4621563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverserpent/pseuds/silverserpent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Training has begun for the new Avengers with Steve Rogers as their lead.   They push each other to get better and improve their natural talents, but it doesn't always lead to a better place.</p>
<p>Chapters will be short.  Short glimpses in a time line.   I don't warn very much to keep some surprise, so let me know if I need to add something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, 
> 
> The chapters are short and hopefully I will be updating weekly. A brief story to get me back into the writing game. Let me know what you think! :)
> 
> If you think a warning needs to be added let me know and I will, but I prefer to not give a lot away....
> 
> Enjoy the fic!

Steve listened and looked around him at the suits and dresses that everyone was wearing. The music was loud and jovial and exactly his taste. Dames dancing to the jazz and spirits flowing freely, the Stork Club all around him. It was exactly where he should have been and not the correct place at all. He mentally pulled back and out; his chest feeling tight and he exhaled in a rush colors, blurring in his brain before the open gym walls were in front of him soft mat beneath his crossed legs.

Natasha was leaning against the wall, the subtle smirk indicating that he had done well. He had come out of the mental state Scarlet Witch had placed on him. He breathed in deeply trying to smooth his slightly accelerated breathing. Sam let out a celebratory laugh, exclaiming “Awe man! You totally smoked us. You were under for like five seconds. It was nothing!” He clapped Steve on the shoulder grinning.

“Yes, congratulations Captain Rogers.” The Vision’s voice cut in as he moved in from his position observing the group. “Your biometrics and cardio rhythms indicated you were under for six point three eight seconds. You have broken your last record and are still two minutes faster than the next time.” Natasha scowled at the Vision’s back. She had not been able to break the two minute barrier, despite all efforts to the contrary. 

Wanda moved from behind Steve and eyebrows creased frustrated, “I was trying.” She said, almost petulant at Steve. Her task had been to project at Steve as strongly as possible, to suck him in and make it difficult to escape his own mind. Six seconds would be difficult for her to do much else, when trying to ensnare someone if that was indeed what she needed to rely on. It was doubtful enemies similar to Thor’s brother Loki would be easily put down with those illusions. 

“I know.” Steve said. They had all been practicing for the past month on various skills and enhancing each other’s natural talents, while attempting to beat them as well. Using each other as the perfect foils. “It’s why we practice now in a controlled space, so we can get better. Don’t worry. You will get better, I’m sure.” He smiled and got up from the thick matted area that they were using and the ‘victim throne’. Some of them had collapsed backwards, and not come out for quite a while. One startling case was over three hours. That had not been repeated

Steve rolled his shoulders and slapped on a grin almost as big as Sam’s and said, “Who’s next?”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The training facility had been built with wonderful tech that had been in the Stark tower, but Steve very much enjoyed the space he was allowed to have now. Not so much that there hadn’t been space in New York, they each had had half a floor at Stark tower, but more that the view he had was out in the country. He appreciated the openness. He had grown up a city boy, but New York was a different city then it had been.

He hadn’t lied when he told Tony he felt like he was home, though it had more to do with training people to replace the gap in the Avengers than anything else. He was more familiar with this semi-military regiment. Nothing had really fit since he came out of the ice. But here, wide open spaces mixed with training and regimens. It was familiar if slightly off, but still a good base. Natasha was here, as was Sam. He was beginning to build relationships with the others. Even some of the new recruits with potential were friendly enough.

It was better than he had been in a while.

There was a knock at the door of his room and Steve answered it. “Hey Steve.” Sam arrived looking relaxed in sweats and a t-shirt. He walked in holding a file that he handed to Steve. Steve didn’t bother looking into it. He recognized the folder as something he had handed off to Sam a week ago. 

Another cold lead. He walked to the room off to his left and Sam followed. The walls were covered with different newspapers, files, and maps. Rolls of empty scotch tape were sitting in the floor in the corner. One wall was devoted to places they had checked for leads. One wall was devoted to missions they had found he was in or suspected of having a hand in. The other wall was possible leads of where he could have been at that moment. But no sign of Bucky so far. 

Steve sighed and threw the file on a large stack on the table just by the entrance. All the failed spots of looking for Bucky. 

Steve sighed looking at the spider web of yarns linking map locations and newspapers and he tried not to let it all sink him. Sam for once didn’t say anything to try and cheer him up, just stood there in silent support. He was good like that.

They would find him. He would never stop looking.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Busted out another short chapter the next day instead of the next week. Yay!

Steve didn’t even go under anymore. He could feel the tickle of a derailing thought and reject it outright. The others were catching up fast; Natasha was now only down for ten seconds at a time. Wanda was getting more frustrated each time she was asked to perform her mind control. 

Steve watched again as she growled in frustration as Sam popped up after thirty four seconds. A water bottle shot toward the wall and exploded on impact. Clearly she had hit a wall, literally and figuratively. Sam just sat quietly ash she stormed off to the other side of the gym. He had volunteered to be the guinea pig for the day as they tried to work out any way to make Wanda’s illusions work better. It was a training exercise, but even the best of them would get frustrated when their techniques were not going as planned.

Steve watched calmly as Wanda paced the room speaking in a language he had never picked up during the war. Sam shook his head sharply from his spot on the victim throne. “Do you need a break?” Steve asked. 

Sam looked up at him and back to Wanda who was at the far side of the room. “Nope, just shaking a little of the remnants out of my head. I can keep going if we want to try.” 

“Yes.” Wanda said coming back over. “We will keep going.” She raised her hands ready to go again, but stopped when Steve’s hand landed on her shoulder pausing her.

“How does this work for you?” He asked. 

Wanda frowned for a moment, thinking. “I mentally focus on my target being placed under an illusion and force it at them.” Her finger tips pulsed slightly as she envisioned this happening.

Sam spoke up on the floor, “And then it just kind of happens?” Wanda nodded. 

“Can you read what a person wants or fears?” Steve asked.

Wanda hesitated, “It is not so much reading, but the spell effects that aspect the most.” 

They were quiet as they contemplated that until Steve spoke up. “Can you do, like a two part spell? Maybe read them and then act on what you find?”

Wanda looked down at Sam who exhaled sharply in what could be a nervous laugh. “Hey I volunteered for this. Let’s try it.” Wanda knelt behind Sam and raised her hands around his head. Her eyes glowed and Sam seemed to sit up slightly more rigidly. It took about twenty seconds, before Steve saw the familiar gesture that indicated her illusion projection and Sam slumped backwards. Wanda caught his shoulders and laid him down on the mat.

His eyes were open, but he was definitely in the dream. When the thirty four second mark passed Wanda visibly straightened with pride. Steve could see some of the tension that had been building this afternoon leave her. They had unlocked a way for her to be stronger, which was great for her and the team. Now the practices would be more interesting and difficult to beat. 

A minute passed and there were no signs of Sam getting up, so Wanda and Steve sat down leaning back against the gym wall and waited quietly. When minute three passed Steve smiled, because he could practically feel Wanda glowing beside him. 

“Can you see into his dream?” They didn’t quite know what to call it. They tried not to call it a vision, because then the real Vision, would often times show up unexpectedly after hearing his name. He had deductive reasoning enough to know they were not calling him, but it had happened a few times. 

Wanda thought for a bit focusing on Sam’s chest steadily rising and falling. “Today I saw briefly where I was sending him to. The place.” Wanda said looking over at Steve, “I think it was because I was searching as opposed to just applying it.” She shrugged. “I can’t see now. I could try it.” She suggested, but Steve shook his head.

“I do not know if we’ll need that right now.”

It was a total of thirteen minutes and forty-four seconds that Sam was out and he came to much more groggily than he had been before. When he had finally shaken off the effects, he hugged her in celebration, “Way to go! I was really gone.” He said proudly. “I could feel you probing initially, but once I was down, I was down.” Wanda laughed and smiled her earlier frustration seemed to have faded. 

“Well then” Steve started, “It looks like we have to get the probing step faster, but this just got much harder for everyone else. Good work.”


	3. Chapter 3

The gun cracking salute was still ringing in his ears. He could feel his heartbeat in his gums and his bones ached as the jet took him back to the compound, his only sanctuary. Natasha was the only one who had gone with him; she was quietly piloting them back. Steve held himself back from the window not wanting to look at the well-manicured green fields dotted by grey.

Cold grey stones with writing etching the owner of the bodies that lay beneath. 

Steve took a deep shaking breath as he felt the world close in around him. He left the co-pilot chair and moved to the back of the plane. His knees hit hard steel and felt the tears he had held back during the funeral rolling warmly down his cheeks. 

It had been opened casket. 

She had died in her sleep, mind more gone then not. Her skin wrinkled, long grey strands lying just perfectly so. Her strength and character still etched in her features, despite how frail she had looked with the life gone from her. 

She was beautiful still. 

And gone. 

Steve keeled forward fist striking the floor as he cried. Peggy was gone. The casket had been lowered. The guns fired in honor. The eulogies read.

It was the last piece he had of his past. There was nothing left. He focused on the gun salute rattling in his ears and trying to breath. The dull pulse of his heart aching in his teeth was not going away. Felt the weight of the casket he helped carry pressing down on him still.

For the last few months he had not visited. He had been busy. Leading and trying to pick up the pieces. Missions that took all of his time. 

But really… it was for more selfish reasons. He hadn’t wanted to see her fall apart. He hadn’t wanted to see her slowly die. It was Peggy. She was tough. She was fierce. If he had survived so long, so would she. There would be a way. But when the last of his weekly visits had been less lucid and more like a dagger to the gut watching the spark in her fade away, he hadn’t had the courage to face her again. 

He had abandoned her. It was selfish and the most despicable thing he had ever done. He could have made time to continue his weekly visits. He could have. 

It was a constant chase of thoughts in his head and pressure slowly choking the life out of him until Natasha touched the plane down and pulled him to standing. Steve breathed in a last shaking breath and rubbed his hands across his eyes. It was time to pull it together. There were too many new recruits on base and it was not time to appear weak. Not with the problems it seemed they were facing of recent. “You ready Cap?” Natasha asked.

It was concern with a reminder to be the leader. Using his name would have broken him a bit and Natasha knew that. She was trying to be supportive and remind him of the position they were in. Steve appreciated it for what it was. He nodded and Natasha hit the bay doors. 

No one bothered him on the way back to his room. He turned the dimmers on the windows of his apartment where he sat on the edge of his bed staring at nothing. She was gone. Peggy was gone. And there was nothing left for him. He reached into the pocket of his uniform on loan from the Smithsonian for this occasion and scrolled through his phone contacts quickly hitting send. When the line clicked open he said, “Come to my quarters” and hung up. 

It wasn’t long until the door opened to reveal Wanda. Steve sat on the bed and didn’t move until Wanda had moved slowly towards him ending two feet in front of him. She stood quietly and Steve looked up into her very concerned face looking like she had seen a something to be feared and pitied at the same time. “I need you to dig deep.” Wanda shook her head in silent protest and Steve stated firmly again, “Concentrate. Find it. My biggest weakness. Find it and hit it hard.” Wanda shook her head again looking above him. Past him.

Steve stood walking toward her and stopped just in front of her. His chest felt tight, his sight slowly beginning to go fuzzy again with unshed tears. “Wanda.” His voice shook and he paused for a second swallowing painfully around the lump in his throat. “I am going to lie down on this bed. And you. You are going to hit me with the most powerful illusion you can muster. And then you’re going to leave. Do you understand?”

Despite it being the softest shakiest order he had ever given, she nodded after only a two second hesitation. So Steve trudged to the bed and lay down, still not bothering to undress or take his shoes off. He looked at Wanda who once more looked concerned, but she set her face with grim determination as she brought her hands up. Steve closed his eyes and relaxed.

The music was streaming into his ears and he blinked open his eyes to see the dancing and celebrations around him, the jazz, the booze, the crowd of a post-war America. He searched the crowd knowing. And there. There she was, the crowd separating around her, Peggy in all her beautiful glory in a beautiful blue dress. “Hello Steve.”

He reached out stepping forward and wrapped his arms around her. She didn’t startle and no one stared, even if it wasn’t appropriate behavior.

Because it wasn’t re-

No. 

Steve pulled back slightly holding her hands in his, “Hi Peg. I’ve missed you.” 

“We’re home now.” She said a soft smile lit her lips. “Are you ready for our dance?” The slight tilt in her head and the slight tease in her voice were so perfect.

It sent him hurtling out the illusion. 

He came out sitting up breathing heavy, shaken to his core. He wanted to stay there it had only been moments. He wanted to stay. But it wasn’t real and he knew that all too well. Felt the tightness and sharp bite of truth shoving the remnants of the illusion away.

He brought his knees to his chest and wept.


End file.
